Pringles is the snack brand known for uniformly curved potato crisps stacked in a tube.
Unlike conventional potato chips, Pringles crisps are made from a dough containing dehydrated potatoes, rather than being cut directly from whole potatoes. The dough is rolled into a thin sheet, cut into identical ovals, and molded into the characteristic saddle shape before cooking.
The shape is technically called a hyperbolic paraboloid. It helps the crisps nest neatly inside the cylindrical can and gives them consistent size and texture. The packaging also helps protect the brittle crisps from being crushed during transport.
Pringles were developed by Procter & Gamble and first test-marketed in the United States in 1967. The product was originally called Pringle's Newfangled Potato Chips. A common mix-up is calling every crisp in the can a traditional potato chip; legally and commercially, Pringles have often been distinguished from chips because of their processed dough format.